What is Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement is an approach to encourage recruits of a company and boost their sense of belongingness within the organization so that they are committed to contributing towards the common goals and values to ensure business success. Employee engagement, however, does not necessarily reflect employee happiness or employee satisfaction but a collective term to portray an employee’s emotional dedication towards his/her workplace.

From the employer’s standpoint, employee engagement is the means to achieve greater productivity and gain overall business success. Management theory patrons believe that when employees feel sensitized toward their workplaces, they are more likely to travel the extra mile and execute tasks with their utmost ability. With a loyal faction of employees, an organization would have lesser absentee rate, low conflicts, and grievances, reduced error in work and drastically increased output.

The facet of employee engagement also includes the job that an employee is entitled to do. For example, if an employee is not inspired by the job description, she would not take pride in exerting additional pressure to deliver excellence. 

How to Improve Employee Engagement?

Strategizing effectual engagement policies are not an easy feat. The perfunctory approach of manipulating an employee and making him commit to the company’s obligation can never qualify to connect the employee emotionally. By providing opportunities for growth, one can engage employees to amply use their skills and stretch them more to rise up the ladder.

Offering training and advancing opportunities to help the growth process of the employees are one of the popular initiatives seen among companies. Letting an employee contribute to important business decisions taken by the company also makes them feel superior and wanted. It is the manager or senior management’s responsibility to constantly recognize the contributions of the employees and reward them to foster a positive work environment.

See also: Five ways to Improve Employee Engagement

How to Measure Employee Engagement?

There are two major factors determining employee engagement.One is engagement with the entire organization and second is engagement with the direct supervisors.Typically, companies rely on surveys to measure employee engagement.

However, with the new age IT innovations, many organizations use people analytics to determine the employee behavior and engagement in a company. The metrics track all essential data of an employee from checking its mails to teamwork and over-time work done. These data are processed to understand how an employee feels about the workplace and the responsibilities assigned to them.

Checking past and present anonymous employee reviews, and conducting an employee engagement survey is also an informal way to assess the employee’s sentiments toward the company. The remarks can provide the company with valuable insights of the inadequacies that lie within the organization and needs to be redressed. Today, numerous companies provide solutions and services tailored to the unique employee engagement needs of the organizations.